


Roman Candle

by hannibalsketches



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Post Beverly Death, Preller, So much angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-26 01:43:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1670096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannibalsketches/pseuds/hannibalsketches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beverly's passing was a match, lighting a fuse underneath them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roman Candle

It's no unwelcome surprise that Jimmy Price ended up at his door one Friday night, two packs of beer in each hand and a shit eating smirk on his face, so Brian willingly lets him in, looking forward to the weekly visit. It was a ritual they had started, somewhere in between the tears and anger that arose after Beverly had died. Every Friday they'd end up at one of their houses, get roaring drunk, and reminisce on shared laughs. The two had grown inseparable since their friends death, and constantly preferred doing things _together_ instead of alone.

"So, any good movies on tonight?"

Jimmy had somehow found his way to the couch, leaving Brian standing like an idiot while he contemplated the idea of being referred to as a  _them_ the rest of his life.

"Nah," He locks the door. "Unless you're into documentaries."

"Oh  _yes_. I'm positively fascinated."

Jimmy settles on the local news, then cracks open the first beer, and props his feet on the ottoman. Brian finds his place beside, watching in mute interest. The story was on a solider, just home from Iraq. His best friend was shot in the line of duty.

Immediately, Brian's thoughts go to Beverly. In ways, they  _were_  fighting a war. He could easily empathize with the solider.

  
_But_ _he_ _didn't have to sew his friend back together._  


Brian begs himself to stop, but it does little good. Destructive thoughts rip his stitched soul again; he struggles to maintain balance.

"Brian? You okay?"

He realizes he's slipping, curling in on himself last minute to catch the broken wail that leaves his body. Tears drown his jeans. He was an emotional mess without even touching a bottle.

Jimmy drops in front of him, wrangling his shaking hands out to hold.

"Shh...it's alright." He rubs soothing circles on Brian's knuckles. This wasn't the first time he had cracked the foundation, and it wasn't going to be the last.

Brian untangles himself before speaking, red and out of breath.

"Sorry....it's j-just..."

"I know. The story. I'll turn it off."

"No! Don't..."

Jimmy puts his back against the sofa, and they watch. The solider ends it by saying that he missed his friend everyday, but was thankful for the ones he still had, and never kept him out of his heart. The scene changes to a touching scene of the solider and his family laughing and playing outside. Jimmy speaks as it cuts to commercial.

"It's been three months since she died, Brian."

"It has. And we still haven't caught the Chesapeake-"

"Shut up." He turns to give Brian a sharp eye. "It's stupid to make yourself sick on things you have no control over whatsoever. We're both giving it all we've got, thats the best we can do for now." He stands suddenly, walking to the back of the couch.

"Where are you going?"

"Gotta piss. Problem?"

"None." Brian readjusts himself on the couch, opening a beer and chugging it back with eagerness. When did the time fly by?

He could still feel the sharp pain when Jack told the unit like it was yesterday. The hurt in their colleagues faces. Jimmy's hand squeezing reassuringly on his knee...

The news comes back on, immediately showing nighttime shots of fireworks going off. The piece was for summer records set the previous year, but the bright exploding lights draw a memory out of the darkness in his mind. Jimmy comes back.

"Hey, you remember the time I told you and Bev I hated fireworks?"

The other man laughs.

"God, yes. We bought out the store and shot them off your roof, right?"

"Yeah. You guys left them here too. I found poppers in my kitchen for weeks!"

The laughter is a tad bittersweet, but its normal when they talk about her.

"Where the hell did you pull that one from?"

Brian gestures to the screen. "News. You guys didn't restore my faith, you know."

Jimmy smiles, and there's a twinge of sadness that nearly breaks him again. Suddenly, he stands again,rummaging about the kitchen. He's behind the fridge when Brian sees whats up.

"What in God's name are you doing?"

Price makes a little noise of discovery before emerging, hands clasped around a rocket. His grin is genuine, and it lightens the mood.

"Just what I thought- a Roman Candle! Bev hid it back there for the next year, but we forgot."

Brian pinches his nose credulously. "You guys put a powerful firecracker behind my  _fridge_."

Jimmy shrugs. "In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea to hide these when we had four shots of tequila each. Wanna light it?"

Brian giggles, not able to look him right in the eyes. "On a cold January night? Sure. Want whiskey?"

"You know it."

Brian grabs his bottle of Jack Daniel's, some glasses, and a box of matches before heading out behind Jimmy.

  
-

The other tenants in his building probably didn't appreciate the hearty laughter echoing up and down the stairwell, but he could honestly care less. They're on the roof fast, but both stop at the door out. The place reeked of their fallen sister, they hadn't been up there without her before. Beverly had always loved it, no matter the weather.

Jimmy cracks the thick atmosphere by grasping Brian's shoulder, giving it a gentle tug, much like he did the day they found out she was gone. It meant that he had someone looking out for him, someone that cared if he was hurting. He swallows the lump as much as possible, then presses on, intent on lighting the damn explosive.

Jimmy sets it up while Brian pours them both two fingers of whiskey. Before striking a match, they clink glasses, an unsaid toast passing between them.

 _To Beverly._

The anticipating hiss drowns out whatever negative thoughts Brian gets. They back up while waiting, nestling down beside one another, backs against the wall.

"Five, four, three, two..." Jimmy was always good at calculations. He nails the timing perfectly, and the Roman Candle shoots off in a clamour.

The sky brightens with color as it goes off, cascading brilliant blues, greens, and reds over the quiet city. Jimmy seems lost in the essence.Brian, however, finds his eyes on Jimmy instead. His face softens with the nighttime rainbow, blurring his grieving face into a pleasing thing that reminisces of better times. He finds himself smiling and crying at the sight. Yes, Bev was gone-but Jimmy was still here, still breathing beside him, and he was so grateful. If he lost him.....

"It's a bit lackluster without millions going off at once, but that might be the alcohol talking. What do you suppose-?"

Jimmy cuts off his train of thought, instead seeing Brian bawling. Little trails of colored light still dance about. 

They both crumble, under the unforgiving moon, two souls desperate for a sliver of the normal life. Some how they embrace, emptying pointless, empty tears onto each others parkas. Brian's whispers are sharp and broken.

"Promise you won't leave me."

"I promise."

Jimmy pulls back, placing a chaste, reassuring kiss on his friend's forehead, then giving attention to each eyelid. Brain whimpers at the contact, curling his fingers around Jimmy's wrist. The action continues, on the nose, cheeks, and ears. There isn't a valid amount of thinking going on when their lips meet, and they draw back, surprised. Brian's eyes hold the stars, and Jimmy knows its a dangerous road to go on, but doesn't care. They needed an escape.

They melt together, tasting a promise of happiness, if only for a little while. Dominance isn't a goal; they're tender with one another, softly threading fingers through hair, letting tongues mingle and twist. As they break for air, their foreheads press.

"Jimmy..." Brian isn't entirely sure where he wants this to go, but feels his friendship with the man teetering into something more fast. His heart is begging for more; his brain is screaming in protest. A follow-up forms on his lips, but its quickly silenced by the other man's voice.

"Shut up. For once in your life, don't use that brilliant brain of yours. It's stupid and corny, but you have to listen to your heart about these things, Brian. I won't push this any farther. You make the call."

Brian pulls from the embrace, looking deep into his friends eyes, hoping for some form of answer. He almost loses himself in the depths, but nonetheless comes back with an answer.

"Where do you want this to go?"

"Honestly? I want to show you how much you mean to me. But I can wait, since that's what you want." Jimmy stands, making a beeline for the exit. Brian makes no attempt to move.

He's soon left alone, struggling to quiet down the bickering in his head. Jimmy Price was once everything Brian strived to be. Smart, quick-witted. But as their friendship grew, he found other things he learned to like. Jimmy's humor, his laugh- hell, even his  _clothes_. There wasn't a single fiber on the man's body Brian didn't like. He loved everything about him.

Brian Zeller nearly topples down the stairs trying to get back to his apartment.

-

It's almost ridiculous, the way he enters his own home, like the very world depended on his actions in the next two minutes. Price slouches on the sofa, but jolts to his feet at Brian's boisterous entry.

"What the hell!? Is everything okay?"

He's so glad to see Jimmy still there, his best friend, the one person in the universe that could bring him happiness at the moment. Brian smiles, grabbing the other's hands loosely.

"I don't want to wait, Jimmy. We both need this."

His companion wears a shocked, but hopeful expression.

"Y-you're positive?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life."

They share a fluttering smirk before Jimmy pins Brian against the wall. Their mouths mend like magnets, there's a deeper connection made when their tongues tangle, one long overdue. Hands grasp and tug in hair, leaving both men moaning for more contact. Their hips lock in a heated touch, seeking some sort of friction from the other. Jimmy pulls away with a strangled moan.

"Bedroom.  _Now._ "

It takes exactly four minutes for them to effectively climb the staircase, stumbling along with heated cheeks and groins. As the door flies open, so do their coats and shirts.

The brisk chill of Brian's bedroom draws a gasp from within, that quickly turns into a hiss when Jimmy begins mapping out his chest, using subtle flicks of the tongue.

The teasing drags on until Brian can get a good hold on the other man's pants, pulling them off with a grunt. His follow suit, leaving the two forensic scientists with nothing on but underwear and socks. They begin another heated kiss, but Jimmy surprisingly breaks it off.

"You still positive about this, Brian?"

"Are you? A few minutes ago you wanted to bang my brains out on the rooftop, now you're having second thoughts..."

The two men raise up, sitting a comfortable distance away, but with the lack of contact, it felt like miles to Brian.

"No I am....its just..." He breaks off.

"Just what?"

"Are you sure we need to be doing this? Aren't we just trying to find a way to cope?"

There's a deafening silence in the room that threatens to drive Zeller up the wall.

"Yes, we are. But its a hell of a lot more than that and you know it. I've had plenty of late night mistakes, Jim. This isn't going to be one of them."

"Well what will happen after-" Brian cuts him off with a deep prodding kiss.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Jimmy smiles, eyes wet with an emotion Brian can't identify. He's led back down to a lying position, his friend straddling him with caution. The pressure brings his erection roaring back to life, he groans. Before Jimmy has a chance to do anything, he's stopped by Brian's blind hands pushing down the elastic on his boxers. They're removed without delay, finding a place on the hardwood floor, and soon joined by Brian's.

With nothing to muffle the contact, the first brush of skin against skin is a little rough, but with both their members leaking, the irritation is soon replaced by slips and slides. There's a thick tension building within Brian, but he can't seem to let go. Jimmy has no problem, moaning out the other man's name with such lust it sends Brian full throttle into his own orgasm.

They collapse in each others arms, panting and whispering sweet nothings into one anothers neck. The night wasn't over.

Their fireworks had just begun.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! This is my first Preller fic, so I apologize if anything fell out of character. Please, give me feedback!


End file.
